Piano-damper attachment



(No Model.)

G.'W. NEILL.

PIANO DAMPER ATTACHMENT.

No. 291,530. Patented Jan. 8,-1884.

Inventor Ge 04 Wmribin afon JV'eZZ 5y a/tQ.

N. PEYERS, Pholc-Llilmgmphcn Waslungmn, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT GEORGE 'WASHIXGTOX XEILL, OF BOSTON, MASSAtHUSETTS.

PIANO-DAMPER ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 291,530, dated January 8, 1854.

I Application died July 17, 183.3. (No model.)

1111 whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE \ilrsrirxoron' XEILL, of Boston, in the county, of Suffolk, of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Iiano- Forte-Damper Attachments; and I do hereby declare the same to be described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings, marked Figures 1, 2, and 8, of which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a piano-forte key and damper, and the operative lever of the latter provided with my invention, the na ture of which is defined in the claims hereinafter presented. In the said Fig. l the parts are shown in the positions they have when the damper is down upon the string; but in Fig. 2 .which is a view similar to Fig. 1, the damper is represented as held in a raised position by means of the upper retainer and latch, to be hereinafter described. In Fig. 3, which is also aview like Fig. 1, the damper is shown held in a raised position by means of the lower retainer and by the adjustable pin, the

latter being inserted in the damper-rod joint piece extended below the damper-lever.

The drawings are designed to represent means of supporting the damper in a raised position-that is, off the stringin order that there may be a prolongation of the sound emitted by the string, or more or less vibration of the string immediately after the string may have been struck by its hammer and the latter may have fallen back upon its seat. Besides such means, the drawings exhibit other mechanism for forcing the damper off the string, this latter mechanism being intended to extend underneath all the damperlevers of the several keys of the instrument and to operate them simultaneously.

In the drawings, A denotes the key; 13, the damper; C, the operative lever of such damper, the rod a of the damper being connected with the lever C by means of a joint-piece, (Z, which is represented as extended belouzthc lever as well as above it, the lever going through a slot in such joint-piece. The jointpin connecting the two is shown at q, the fulcrum of the lever being represented at b. Arranged over the said lever C is the upper retainer, I), which isa bar having projecting from it a foot, r, wedge-shaped or otherwise properly formed in transverse section. The retainer extends along over ca ch oithc dampen levers of the instrument, and at its upper part is pivoted, so as to be capable of having imparted to it a short pcndulous movement, limited by two stationary pins or stops, (1 and c, and by an arm 0, the said arm extending,as shown, from the retainer and between such Stops.

Between the retainer and the jointpiece 17 of the damper-rod there is a latch, E, which,

shaped as shown, is pivoted to the damper lever, and drawn forward or toward the retainer by means of a spring, 0, connected to the said lever and latch. The upper part or head of the latch is beveled or inclined, as represented, and there is screwed into and through the shank of the latch a wire, 1'', provided at its end next the retainer with a but ton or stop, 9, to bear against an abutment, 71, of the damperlcver, such abutment being arranged as represented. The movement of the retainer toward the latch is to be etfected by apedal suitably connected with the retainer, and arranged in a convenient position for a player on the piano-forte to actuate it (the said pedal) by use of his foot duly applied to it. On striking the key the damper-lever and damper will be operated in the ordinary man ner, provided the pedal is not depressed by the performer; but should the pedal be moved in order to move the retainer toward the latch, and to cause the stopping-arm of such retainer to bring up against the upper of the stops (1 e and the key be struck, the latch, while the damper-lever may be in motion upward, will be borne in contact with the projecting foot of the retainer, and will be moved so as to catch or hook upon such foot, and with it hold the damper off the string after or even before the finger of the performer may have left the key, and while the retainer may be in its forward position.

Although the latch is shown in the drawings as pivoted to the damper-lever, such latch in some cases ma v,instead, be pivoted to the j ointpiece (I; but I prefer to hinge or pivot the latch to the lever rather than to the j oint-piece.

3y means of the latch and retainer, arranged and applied as described, important advantages are attainable in the playing of the piano-forte, for any one or more of the dampers may beheld raised offer relatively to the string or strings thereof while the keys of the other dampers may be in the act of being played.

In and through the part of the joint-piece d that extends below the lever Cthere is screwed a pin, 8, to operate with thelower retainer, G, which, pivoted at its upper part, swings like the upper retainer, and is provided with a stopping-arm, t, to rest when down upon a stop or stud, a. The retainer G, when inits raised position, brings up against another stationary stop, 12. For moving such retainer upward, a pedal is to be suitably connected withit, such pedal being independent of that used for operating the upper retainer. Immediately after striking akey, the damper of which is to be held raised off its string by means of the lower retainer, G, and the screw-pin s, the pedal of such retainer is to be depressed in order to cause the retainer tolie moved forward to carry its feet directly underneath the pin, and thereby with it hold the damper elevated off the string so long as a depression of the pedal may continue. With the lower retainer arranged beneath or below the damper-levers and provided, as described, with a pedal and with the joint-piece (l extendedbelow its damperlever, and furnished with the catch-pin 8, adjustable lengthwise in such joint-piece, it will be seen that ten or aless number of keys may be struck and their dampers be held up off the strings thereof; but no more than ten can be so kept up at one time, for onlyten keys can be struck at once by the two hands of a performer with each finger applied to one of such keys; but while any such dampers are so held raised the dampers of other keys may be operated, and may be held off their strings by the upper retainer and the latch, and thus it will be seen that by having to theset of damper-levers and joint-pieces the two retainers and the latch and catch-pins to operate with the said damperlevers, and to be operated by separate pedals, duly connected with the retainers, very import-ant advantages are secured beyond what is attained without the lower retainer and the screw-pin, arranged and to operate and to be moved by means as explained.

Extending under all the levers C is abar, H, provided with an adjusting screw, 10, arranged in it, as represented. This bar is to be fixed to arms 1, pivoted to the piano-frame, or a suitable bar, K, arranged therein. It is also to be connected with a third pedal and to be raised on such pedal being depressed by a player, the object of the said bar being to force upward all the damper-levers simultaneously, as occasion may require.

I do not herein claim the damper-lever provided with the abutment, the latch, its operative spring, and adjustable stop, in combination with the damper, and also with the retainer D, to be operated by a pedal, and to operate with the latter, substantially and for the purpose as explained, having made such the subject of a claim in an application for a patent filed June 5, 1883.

I claim- 1.. The combination of the upper retainer and the damper-lever and its latch with the lower retainer and with the damper-rod'j oint piece extended below the damper-lever, and provided with the pin to operate with the said lower retainer, all being substantially as set forth.

2. The damper-rod jointpiece extended below the damper-lever, and provided with the pin .9, in combination with the retainer G, arranged below the said damper-lever and to operate with the said pin, substantially as represented.

The combination of the movable bar H,to be operated, essentially as described, by a pedahwith a damper-lever and joint-piece, their latch and pin, and with the upper and lower retainers arranged with the said damper-levers, and to operate with the latch and pin, sul'vstantially as set forth.

GEORGE YVASHIXGTOX NEILL. lVitnesses:

H. EDDY, E. B. PRATT. 

